


The Story of Aphrodite and Persephone

by merryghoul



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Adultery, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, Poetry, Retelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-03-20 02:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3632850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryghoul/pseuds/merryghoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A retelling of Ovid's "The Story of Venus and Adonis."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Story of Aphrodite and Persephone

**Author's Note:**

> For:
> 
> * Fic Promptly, [prompt "Author's Choice, Author's Choice, Crafting the perfect plan."](prompt)  
> * Ladies Bingo, prompt "infidelity."  
> 

In the Elysian Fields, hidden in the shades of Hades,  
lives Adonis. Born from Smyrna, pregnant woman turned into  
a tree by the gods to spare her life, the child was cared for by  
Persephone, the queen of the dead. It is said that she  
and Aphrodite fell in love with the child. But the truth is  
Aphrodite was miserable on earth with her husband  
and Persephone was miserable in Hades with her spouse.  
Persephone also missed her dear mother on the surface.  
While Persephone was on the surface, Aphrodite came  
up with a plan. Aphrodite would pretend to be struck  
by one of the arrows of Eros, causing her to fall in  
love with the child at birth. Persephone would take care of the  
child, and Aphrodite would see the child in the Elysian  
Fields. In reality, a nursemaid of the Fields would take care  
of Adonis while Aphrodite and Persephone hid  
in a corner of the Fields, far away from the prying eyes.  
There they gave into their longing for each other. It was there  
they satisfied their needs before they were forced to part. But a  
new problem loomed around the horizon. Adonis grew up  
and became a man at eighteen. He could not stay in the  
Fields any longer. So Aphrodite had to come up with  
another plan. With Persephone, they concocted a feud  
where the two fell in love with Adonis' beauty and could  
not agree on who should share the right to spend time with the  
youth. They'd pretend that their fight was bitter enough to attract  
Zeus' attentions. They'd convince Zeus to settle the matter  
by letting Aphrodite spend the summer months with the youth  
and Persephone the winter months. They knew Adonis  
would go along with it because he was not the brightest youth.  
Hephaestus was oblivious to all of Aphrodite's relationships  
except for her liaisons with Ares. Hades did not care.  
(He never cared unless someone tried to leave the realm of the  
dead.) Aphrodite and Persephone continued with their  
affair. That was, until Adonis died. And, of course, it was  
at the hands of Ares, as clueless as Adonis, but more  
jealous and possessive. When Adonis died, Persephone  
sent Aphrodite a flower, small and blood red. It was a  
sign of Persephone's love for Aphrodite; even  
though she was in the Underworld and could not plan a scheme for  
the two to lie together in the Elysian Fields, there  
was still hope for the two of them. So Aphrodite went  
back to Hades, the Underworld, to engage in another  
staged fight over who owned the rights to Adonis' body.  
Once again, Zeus sided with Aphrodite, allowing the  
shade of Adonis to be with the living in the summer  
and reside in Hades in the winter. And once again, the  
goddesses carried on their affair in secret, hiding in  
the Elysian Fields, escaping their loveless marriages,  
if only for brief moments at a time. Pleasure is fleeting,  
and Aphrodite and Persephone knew it was the truth.


End file.
